Sectors & IndustriesHealthcareDiagnostics & Research

Best Diagnostic & Research Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top diagnostic & research stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best diagnostic & research stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best diagnostic & research stocks to buy right now are:

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) is the #1 top diagnostic & research stock out of 56 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) has a Due Diligence Score of 37, which is 10 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 27.

ILMN passed 12 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Illumina has seen its stock return 51.93% over the past year, overperforming other diagnostic & research stocks by 43 percentage points.

Illumina has an average 1 year price target of $138.60, an upside of 7.47% from Illumina's current stock price of $128.97.

Illumina stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 10 analysts covering Illumina, 30% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 10% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 10% have issued a Strong Sell.

Sotera Health Co (NASDAQ:SHC) is the #2 top diagnostic & research stock out of 56 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Sotera Health Co (NASDAQ:SHC) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Sotera Health Co (NASDAQ:SHC) has a Due Diligence Score of 33, which is 6 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 27.

SHC passed 11 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Sotera Health Co has seen its stock return 37.4% over the past year, overperforming other diagnostic & research stocks by 29 percentage points.

Sotera Health Co has an average 1 year price target of $21.40, an upside of 35.79% from Sotera Health Co's current stock price of $15.76.

Sotera Health Co stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 5 analysts covering Sotera Health Co, 60% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 20% have issued a Buy, 20% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) is the #3 top diagnostic & research stock out of 56 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: A, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) has a Due Diligence Score of 44, which is 17 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 27.

A passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Agilent Technologies has seen its stock lose -2.05% over the past year, underperforming other diagnostic & research stocks by -11 percentage points.

Agilent Technologies has an average 1 year price target of $166.69, an upside of 38.29% from Agilent Technologies's current stock price of $120.54.

Agilent Technologies stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 13 analysts covering Agilent Technologies, 76.92% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 15.38% have issued a Buy, 7.69% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 6 diagnostic & research stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 diagnostic & research stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) has an annual dividend yield of 1.54%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 0.73%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Quest Diagnostics's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio of 36.1% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) has an annual dividend yield of 0.83%, which is the same as the diagnostic & research industry average of 0.73%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Agilent Technologies's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio of 22% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Labcorp Holdings (NYSE:LH) has an annual dividend yield of 0.77%, which is the same as the diagnostic & research industry average of 0.73%. Labcorp Holdings's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Labcorp Holdings's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Labcorp Holdings's dividend payout ratio of 27.3% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Diagnostic & research stocks were up 0.03% in the last day, and down -0.86% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why diagnostic & research stocks are up.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued diagnostic & research stocks right now are:

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) is the most undervalued diagnostic & research stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Icon has a valuation score of 100, which is 84 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 16. It passed 7 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Icon's stock has dropped -39.98% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the diagnostic & research industry by -49 percentage points.

Qiagen Nv (NYSE:QGEN) is the second most undervalued diagnostic & research stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Qiagen Nv has a valuation score of 29, which is 13 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 16. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Qiagen Nv's stock has gained 23.96% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the diagnostic & research industry by 15 percentage points.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) is the third most undervalued diagnostic & research stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Agilent Technologies has a valuation score of 14, which is -2 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 16. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates A a Valuation Rating of "B".

Agilent Technologies's stock has dropped -2.05% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the diagnostic & research industry by -11 percentage points.

50% of diagnostic & research stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect diagnostic & research stocks to rise by 22.2% over the next year.

4.76% of diagnostic & research stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 35.71% of diagnostic & research stocks are rated B (Buy), 47.62% are rated C (Hold), 11.9% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).